IAC&ME POSITION STATEMENT

IAC&ME has been advised of the following:

DHS/FEMA, working through the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute, has issued a revision to the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Intelligence/Investigation (I/I) Function Guide that raises significant concerns within the Coroner/Medical Examiner (C/ME) community.

The revision NIMS draft document, if adopted, will result in the relocation of all C/ME operations during a mass fatality incident from its current position in the Incident Command System (ICS) as a “Fatality Management Branch (FM)” under the Operation Section to a “Medicolegal Group” under the I/I Section.

IAC&ME opposes this change in NIMS doctrine for the following reasons:

Mass Fatality Management (MFM) is a complex, specialized, medicolegal-based function that must operate as a separate branch in its currentposition within the Operations Section.

The responsibility for managing human remains falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Coroner or Medical Examiner within the localjurisdiction where the death occurs.

MFM resides within Emergency Support Function #8 and it is recognized to be medical function within the public health arena as defined bythe Department of Health & Human Services Agency.

MFM involves a series of highly specialized tactical operational functions that involve:

The ability to effectively perform scene documentation; the complete collection and recovery of the deceased, victims personaleffects, items of evidence; decontamination of remains and personal effects (if required); transportation, storage; determination ofthe nature and extent of injury; identification of the decedent using scientific means; certification of the cause and manner of death,and the efficient return of the decedent and any personal effects to the victims legally authorized next of kin.

Interaction with and provision of legal, customary, compassionate, and culturally competent required services to the families of thedeceased within the context of the family assistance center

Intelligence/Investigation has a different mission than fatality management.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) 2009 Report identifies the need for independence for Coroners and Medical Examinersfrom law enforcement agencies.

The NAS Report further states that the medicolegal investigation of death (including autopsies) should be independent of lawenforcement.

Obtaining ante-mortem information from family members for the purposes of supporting the efficient and scientific identification ofvictims should not occur in a law enforcement based (Investigative or interrogative) environment.

Based on these reasons, the IAC&ME cannot support any change to NIMS that would require that C/ME tactical operations occur under an I/I platform.

The IAC&ME recommends that a FM remain under the Operations Section as is the current structure in recent mass fatality events and the current operational protocol. Further recommending that the I/I section provide a liaison to the FM to facilitate this coordination.

The IAC&ME recognizes the need for close coordination with law enforcement particularly in such limited areas as missing persons operations in support of developing a decedent manifest.